1. Field of the Invention
This invention is a grave marker or the like having an audio system for audibly broadcasting at the burial or resting site of the remains of a human or animal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Although there have been grave markers or tombstones which included audio playback capacities in the past, all seem to have design or structural shortcomings which have for the most part rendered them impractical. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,928,928 issued Dec. 30, 1975 to P. M. Kalust for AUDIO VISUAL MEMORIAL, required an electrical outlet at the grave site, which cemeteries would have to install and maintain at a large expense. Additionally, the Kalust device uses magnetic tape as a form of recording information for playback. Magnetic tape, which is known to be fragile, does not stand up well to temperature extremes over the long term, often stretching or breaking in high heat, and becoming brittle and often breaking in cold weather or with age. U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,970 issued Oct. 2, 1979 to M. L. Opiela for MEMORIAL AUDIO REPRODUCTION SYSTEM, like that of Kalust, also uses magnetic tape for the storage of information, and therefore would have similar shortcomings. The Opiela system proposes using a solar cell to supplement batteries which power the tape player. The amount of electrical power required to drive a mechanical tape player or a similar device such as a record or laser disk player is normally quite high, which may result in the batteries being depleted excessively quickly. It is these among other shortcomings which my invention overcomes.